Fighting The Past
by Scorpions 4
Summary: Brian has a secret. A secret only his family know. Weighed down by the events in LA, he struggles with life everyday. Set after FF1 before FF2. No Mia/Brian and Dom/Letty. Includes OC's.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I: At Stanley's

Finding honourable work, as an ex-cop that actually pays well is nearly impossible – with stakes at slim to none. Maybe that's why Brian found himself standing in front of Stanley's, a chop-shop in the more crime-ridden part of Echo Park, three months after being 'excused' from LAPD.

Brian scoffed; it was a polite way to say fired and any respectable business knew it. Like he cared, he had been recommended for a job in the FBI's LA field office. He had grasped the chance with both hands. He was glad he had left LAPD anyway; it was full of arrogant incompetent gits. He did not start at FBI for another month so he needed something to do in the meantime.

Stanley's was as far from respectable as one could get. Therefore, he did not care what Brian did before working for him. All he cared about was Brian being good with cars, did not mind working on illegal vehicles, and accepting payments under the table as a form of salary. Stanley was an angry man and incredibly rude. He paid well though, so Brian did not exactly complain.

Before Brian was excused from the force, he heard news that the Toretto case had been dropped due to lack of proper evidence. What actually happened was Brian had convinced LAPD to also look at Johnny Tran, who was infamously known for hijacking trucks carrying life-saving equipment and then destroying the equipment. A week later, Tran was found on security camera, hijacking a truck carrying a full hospitals supply of medical equipment. With Tran arrested, tried and sentenced, the crew were allowed to return to America.

Brian had felt unease when he heard. He was glad the people he used to think of as friends were not going to be hunted down like wild animals. However, he knew if they caught sight of him, he would become hunted prey. The blonde-haired person knew he should have left California. Gone to Texas for work and housing like the one major plan he and his family had. Hell, he should have left the west coast altogether. He could not make himself leave though. Therefore, he supposed, it was kind of his fault when Vince strolled into Stanley's looking for a spare part and reacted to Brian's presence.

Half an hour later, Brian was laying on the floor in a bloody heap with Vince crouching over him. The man pulled Brian to his feet, and wrapped his arms around the blonde into a tight backbreaking hug. Before pushing him onto the floor again, storming out of the garage, tense, and shaking in anger.

Stanley, who had watched the whole thing, walked over to Brian and kicked him not so gently in the side "You're gettin' blood on my floor, O'Connor."

Vince did not say anything to anyone about who he saw at Stanley's, hoping to not reopen slowly healing wounds. Everyone tried to ignore the gaping holes at the dinner table while simultaneously trying to convince themselves they only missed one of those holes.

Brian had been a cop; he wormed his way into the family and betrayed their trust. Though, considering they were allowed back into the States without being in handcuffs said something too.

Still Vince was pissed at the Buster and knew the kid would only cause his family more grief. So he kept his discovery a secret. It did not stop him from driving by the garage every couple of days, when he was not really paying attention. When passing by, he would glance out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the blonde. He never did. However, he noticed a few curls disappearing around the building's far corner or a shadow passing underneath the partially lowered door.

Maybe that is why Vince found himself standing outside the garage, three weeks later. His arms were folded and he was glaring fiercely at the door. After a few moments, he stepped into the open building and spotted Brian almost immediately. He winced slightly at the poor state of his slowly healing face. Seeing the evidence of his crushing rage, three weeks previous, made Vince wallow in his sudden guilt. He really needed help for his temper. Otherwise, he was going to end up killing someone. His confrontation with Brian proved that.

The blonde was bent over a grey rust-bucket, hand tinkering with something under the hood as Vince walked up. He glanced down to see what the man was doing and a mixture of horror and shock filled him. He grabbed Brian by his shirt collar and threw him backwards. Brian howled in shock, which was followed by a growl of pain as he landed hard against the garage wall.

As soon as he saw who threw him, he hastily unrolled his sleeves and shoved them down past his wrists. The action made Vince growl as he stalked closer to the younger man. He grabbed one of Brian's wrists and held it up. This allowed the slightly too-big sleeve to fall down, exposing the self-inflicted scars that criss-crossed along his forearm. Vince would not mind betting it was the same on Brians' other arm.

"What the fuck is this shit?" he growled, slamming his other palm into the concrete next to Brian's head, making him flinch and turn his head away. He was expecting to get beaten up again – not that Vince could blame him. Considering their last meeting.

Brian stuttered, unable to form any complete words, causing Vince to growl again. He began to pull Brian out the door and towards his car.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Brian was finally able to ask, trying to pull his arm away from Vince's hold.

The larger man, however, only growled and held onto Brian tighter. Vince opened his passenger door and thrusted Brian in none-too-gently, slamming the door behind him as he made his way to the driver's seat. He got in, hammered the locks down before reaching over to pull the seatbelt across Brian's torso and buckling him. Whilst Vince knew Buster could probably do it himself, some of those wounds looked fresh and he did not want to aggravate them further. He revved the engine and took off towards Echo Park and Dom's garage.

When Brian realised where Vince was headed, he began to stutter out pleas for mercy. "I'll-I'll leave. I'll leave California and you'll never have to see me again. Please Vince, don't-don't do this."

His request fell on deaf ears, as Vince did not even spare his blonde passenger a single glance. His knuckles were white and shaking as he gripped the steering wheel. Brian's pleas died in his throat as DT's Garage came into view. He began to shake in fear. Vince did not notice.

When Vince parked and stepped out of the car, Brian stayed frozen in his seat, unsure as to what he was doing there. Though he guessed, it was it was most likely to receive yet another beating (though this time courtesy of Dom). He could feel his lungs burning from oxygen deprivation. He gulped and steeled his nerves for the upcoming meet with his former best friend. Vince opened his door, and grabbed him by the upper arm, yanking him out of the car towards the garage.

Vince yelled for Dom and as the bald man came around the corner, he proclaimed "Look what I found working over at Stanley's."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II: Dom's Garage

Dom's eyes hardened and became enraged as he saw Brian. Standing in front of him, was the man he believed to have ruined his life. He did not take too kindly to betrayers. And that was what he saw Brian as. He stalked forward, grabbing a wrench as he did. He did not see Brian tensing, readying himself for the incoming pain.

Vince saw it instead. He saw how with each step Dom made closing the distance, Brian was further preparing himself, physically, emotionally and mentally for the pain, Dom felt he deserved.

Vince pulled Brian behind him and held up the hand that was not holding onto Brian in the universal sign for 'wait.'

Dom paused, his nostrils flaring in anger and hatred "What the fuck did you bring that piece of shit here for Vince?" he questioned harshly.

Brian flinched unnoticeably, remembering the same words spew from his neglectful father's mouth. Fear yet again flooded his system. Lucifer was he glad Devon and Kendall had given him a proper home.

Vince ground his teeth together and pulled the inch smaller man in front of him. He took the arm he still had a hold of, raised it up and thrust it in Dom's general direction.

By the time Brian's frantic mind caught up with what Vince was doing, the larger man already had his other hand on his sweatshirt cuff and was pulling it up.

"I think he's beat himself up enough for the both of you." he informed Dom

Brian frantically struggled in Vince's tight hold but soon gave up, as he just did not have the required strength.

Dom's eyes widened as he dropped the wrench and grabbed a hold of his arm.

Vince wrapped his arms around Brian's torso, pinning his other arm in the process.

Dom's fingers lightly traced the multitude of scar lines marring Brian's tanned skin. He used a gentleness Brian would have never thought Dom actually possessed. He was always so rough with people, it was no wonder Dom and Vince were best friends.

Brian tugged his arm away as he pressed his friendship bracelet resting on his other wrist into his skin.

Dom growled and looked up at Brian, "What the fuck is this shit?" he demanded

Vince choked out a humourless laugh, "My words exactly, boss." He replied

"LET FUCKING GO OFF MY SON! NOW!" a furious voice was heard from the garage doors.

* * *

><p>Devon, Roman and Kendall were on their way to Venice Beach for a relaxing day. Amber and Forrest were planning on meeting them there later in the day. Devon was driving his black and gold-flamed Ferrari 458 Italia, as it was at least 20 miles from their modest sized villa to Venice Beach. They were talking about their vacation plans to Texas. Each of them was hoping to get their fourth member to join. Suddenly, they felt the friendship bracelets on their left wrists warm up. Brian was in trouble. Devon completed a hard right, before racing up the alleyway. He texted Amber and Forrest one handed to tell them, they would handle it.<p>

They were passing DT's Garage when Rome's head snapped over to the three men standing at the middle ramp. He frowned before turning towards his older brother and sister.

"Blade, you might want to stop. Like now." He said

"Can I ask why?" Devon asked as he found a free parking space and stopped the car.

All of them climbed out of the vehicle before Rome pointed at the middle person.

Devon and Kendall turned in the direction he was pointing. No wonder Brian was in trouble if Vince had grabbed a hold of him. The three knew full well what Brian had sacrificed for the Toretto crew. They moved forward as one unit.

When they reached the entrance to the garage, they stopped.

They had arrived just in time to here Vince's humourless laugh and his reply: "My words exactly, boss."

Vince had their brother in a tight hold across his ribs.

"LET FUCKING GO OFF MY SON! NOW!" Devon shouted, furious at the treatment his son was suffering through.

Dom and Vince turned in shock to see two men and one woman standing there, illuminated by the mid-morning California sun.

Brian was still struggling to get out of the rather painful hold.

The middle figure noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"You can either let go of Bullet or I can have you ruined faster than you can say 'hijacking'." he said.

He smirked coldly at Vince.

Vince let go of Brian, who sprinted over to the three figures.

Brian could not believe it, his brother and parents were here, rescuing him. When he reached them, he wrapped his arms around the woman. She hugged him fiercely back. He looked over her head at the other two men

"D-D-Devon, Rome, Storm. What? How?" he asked

"We felt the connection warm up from your end and straight away knew something was wrong. It lead us straight here, bro." The second man answered

"But ... Rome, you hate me" Brian said, weakly. He did not have the physical strength to fight with his brother anymore.

"No I don't dude" The identified Rome said

"Yes you do" Brian cried, agony in his voice tone.

"No I don't Bullet. After you left, Blade came up to me and asked where you had gone. I replied 'Don't know, don't care.' Next thing I knew, I was shoved into the wall and Blade told me you had gone off the grid. No one could find you. After a sleepless night remembering the good times, I could not find it in me to be angry and hateful. Blade and Storm organised the search and I volunteered to help. We found out from LAPD you had left. Bilkins also helped by producing your file. It was still there so we took it and left. Bilkins' asked us to give him updates whilst he gives us updates. That was nearly three months ago, Bullet. As soon as we leave here, I'll give him a call." Rome explained

"Why Bilkins?" Brian asked

"Because he was the only one to believe in you" Roman stated

"Point made" Brian conceded.

He released the woman and she moved back to the first man. He wrapped an arm around her.

Brian looked at the first man and woman in shock. No wonder they were pleased to see him. If he had been presumed missing or 'off the grid', then it explained their reactions. After all, they were his parents.

"Blade, what?" he asked

The first man smirked

"You're family, Bullet, and family sticks together. You've been Rome's – our best friend since kindergarten for Lucifer's sake. You've been Rome and Amber's brother since you were 13. You've been mine and Storm's son since you turned 12. We weren't about to leave you behind. Not when there was a snowballs chance, you were still alive." Blade answered

"Thanks guys" Brian stated

* * *

><p>Dom and Vince watched the interaction between Brian and the trio. They felt sadness and nostalgia hit them. At one point that had been them. Now, it was clear Brian had found a new family.<p>

'_When did I stop thinking of him as family? Damn it, Buster you were the only one who was able to fit so naturally into our dysfunctional family. What would the other's reactions be if they knew how badly Vince and I had treated him._' Dom thought bitterly.

'_What made me stop from telling the others where he was? Shit, Dom's gonna kill me if he found out. What made me beat him up? Because it wasn't me missing the gang._' Vince thought

* * *

><p>Both men nodded before whipping around to face the frozen Dom and Vince.<p>

Devon gritted his teeth together as his eyes flashed red. Brian and Roman had told him all about Dom Toretto and his Second-in-Command Vince Schulze. Dom showed no remorse for the lives he had taken whilst Vince beat up anyone and everyone he remotely disliked. Brian's injuries were a testament of that.

Rome felt the white-hot anger flood through his veins at the sight before him. He couldn't believe he had once called Dom a friend. After all Brian had done for him, Dom allowed Vince to beat Brian half to death. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Devon.

Devon turned his head to look at his wife and son next to him.

"You two" he called

"Yeah, Blade" Storm asked

"Why don't you go wait in the office? Rome and I need to have a word with these two dickshits" Devon said.

The duo nodded as they walked away towards the office. They entered the room and shut the door behind them.

Once inside and sitting on the couch, Brian leant into the woman's gentle touch. It was familiar to him. It was home. He had forgotten how much he had missed Kendall during the last few weeks. He felt loved after what felt like a lifetime of pain, and he didn't want to let go. It was clear she felt the same way as she was holding onto like a lifeline. She turned her face upwards to show glistening green eyes. There was a look of mingled hope and disbelief.

"Kendall" he whispered, daring to believe.

She smiled as a tear dropped "Yeah, sweetheart, it's me" she murmured

Brian smiled back as he held his mom/older sister closer to his body. Suddenly, he felt a small nudge against his hand. He looked down in confusion before glancing up at Kendall's smile.

"Was that?" he asked

"Yeah, that's my baby reacting to its uncle/older brothers touch. He missed you. We all did." Kendall stated, slyly inserting her and Devon's baby's gender.

"I missed you guys constantly as well. There were times I couldn't physically move, I missed you that much. Wait a minute, he?" Brian said, catching onto what she was implying

"Yes, he. I found out two days ago, Devon and I are having a boy. I haven't told him yet as I wanted you there for when I did." Kendall said

Brian stood up before moving in front of Kendall. He crouched on the floor and leaned forward. He lightly brushed her midsection with rough, scarred hands, before uncovering her small baby bump but paused an inch away from her skin.

Kendall felt his hesitation.

"Go ahead, mi hermano." She whispered

Brian's hands rubbed against her skin as he rubbed soothing circles. He smiled when his baby brother nudged him again.

Diamond tears fell from Kendall's when her youngest "son" began to speak.

"Heya baby boy, its Connor. You've got to stop kicking momma, she needs a rest. Can you do that for your big brother? When you're older, you're going to be great you know. Especially at Sport, History, Engineering, Art, Maths, Music and English. I'll make sure of it. I love you buddy." He uttered.

He pulled away, dropped his sisters t-shirt back into place and swept Kendall into a hug. He spun around in a circle, smiles on their faces and joyous laughter spilling from their lips. Brian stopped, causing Kendall to loop her arms around his neck to stop herself from falling.

Lost in the hug, they failed to notice the door behind them opening and that there was now an audience. Until someone chuckled.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile:<p>

Devon and Roman watched on as their brother and sister – or wife in Devon's case – left. Once they were sure the office door was properly shut behind them, they glared at Dom and Vince. The two men flinched at the ice in their individual glares. They were cutting and it chilled them to the bone.

Devon's eyes were a stormy grey and Rome's eyes were a dark brown. There was no warmth, no softening glint. Just hard, cold, and calculating eyes.

"Well done. You two singlehandedly fucked up our Bullet's life. You two pricks are the reason he is like this in the first place. You did not know this because Bri did not want you two know, but we feel you need to. Brian pinned the hijackings on Tran so your case would be dropped, ultimately letting you guys return. This is the way you treat him. It is no wonder Bullet wants absolutely nothing to do with you. And that's just the tip of the iceberg." Devon spat, his body slightly shaking.

Dom flinched; he knew it was partially his fault Brian had started cutting. There wasn't anything he could do to make up for it either. He felt sick when he realised how much Brian had sacrificed to gain Dom his freedom back.

"There's more?" he asked

Rome laughed softly, scaring them even though they didn't show it. "More? Of course there's more. Because of your best friend here, Bri was beaten half to death which jumpstarted his emotional state to hit an all time low. Did you care? No. In fact you hated him so much because of his job as a Federal Agent, something _we_ are proud of him for by the way, you've just tried to smash his head in with a wrench." He sneered

Dom looked at his best friend in naked shock.

Vince looked pained at the reminder of three weeks ago. At the time, he had been so angry he wasn't thinking straight. Now. Now he knew the consequences his actions had on Brian, he felt nauseated.

Devon placed a hand on Rome's shoulder to restrain him.

"It got so bad, he started to believe he was the reason your lives were royally fucked up. You were all sent to prison, and Jesse was killed on that hijacking. He believed it was his fault for everything going wrong." Rome continued; he wanted to get it through their thick heads how Brian ended up like this.

"It wasn't like that, at all. Bri's family to us" Dom defended

"Oh really? Because family doesn't beat family members up because they feel like it. If you think that is the case then you are fucking damn delusional in your warped sense of reality." Devon told him

"I was a member of the crew for five months, Dom. During that time, I watched as you used Bullet as a proverbial punching bag time and time again. You never treated him as a friend or family member. You treated him like dirt on the bottom of your shoe. It was no wonder he left and I went with him. YOU BROKE HIM!" Rome answered, shouting at the end.

"Leave our brother alone or I will end you, slowly and painfully." Devon threatened before he and Rome left for the office.

Devon turned the handle and opened it in time to witness the siblings' sweet reunion. He smiled softly as he had known how much Kendall had missed Brian – or as they called him, Connor. He cleared his throat roughly, informing them of his and Rome's presence.

(AN: Brian will now be called Connor but he is still the same name. It is just the group know him by the name of Connor and not Brian.)

Connor turned to them and grinned, placing Kendall back on the floor.

Rome chuckled as he and Devon joined them. The quartet gave each other a group hug, reassured by the others presence. Connor held onto Rome and Kendall tightly, not wanting to let go of his family yet. Not when he had got them back. They broke apart after a few minutes. Connor and Kendall sat on the couch whilst Devon and Rome sat on Dom's desk. Rome broke the silence.

"You ok, bro?" he asked

Connor nodded as he rubbed his left wrist. "I will be" he answered

"We were not surprised to hear it actually" Devon told him

Connor's head snapped up "How come?" he questioned

"You fell into depression, bud. When you fall, you try to escape everything through some sort of physical feeling. We have all been through it Bullet, you know that. I go on suicidal missions for MI-6, NEST, and SAS. Storm becomes a stripper. Rome starts taking drugs. You happen to self-harm. Personally, we think you should be given a medal for dealing with this situation on your own before now and staying strong. Do we love you any less? No. Do we look at you with pity? No. You wanna know why? Because you are our brother and it happens to everyone at some stage. This just happens to be the second time you have battled depression head on, the first time being when you were around 10." Devon explained; he wanted his son to know they were there for him.

Connor sighed deeply and explained: "There's something I forgot to mention. I worked at Stanley's because I was desperate and I wanted to be as far away from the Toretto Crew as I could without leaving the city. As you guys know, my apartment was claimed by LAPD as evidence. This meant I was allowed to keep my most important possessions and nothing else. As a result, I've struggled since to find anywhere proper to sleep. I've been staying in a cheap motel room as it was all I could afford whilst still being close enough for you guys to reach me."

Kendall tugged him onto her lap so he was lying down. Connor turned his body to face his brothers.

Devon looked deep in thought. "OK. We'll leave the city, probably the entire state. Shit, I should have realised this before. It's up to you guys how we can do this. I mean it's obvious; Bullet's reached his end with the Class 'A' assholes in there. I think a change of scenery would be good for all of us – not just us four but the entire Crew. That way we can forget the Toretto Crew once and for all. I'm all for moving, but what about you two?" he said, directing his question at Kendall and Rome.

Kendall nodded as she brushed her hand through Connors' hair.

Rome was weighing the pros and cons of moving before he makes a decision. He also nodded.

Connor smiled weakly at them, the adrenaline of the past couple of hours was wearing off.

"Alright, let's go home where we can hash out plans." Devon stated, getting off the desk.

The other three nodded.

Rome slid off the desk as well.

Connor sat up and moved off the couch. He turned and lifted Kendall into his arms before placing her on the ground.

Devon looked at each of his crew members in turn before nodding as well. He turned the handle.

* * *

><p>Outside the office:<p>

After Rome and Devon had shut the office door behind them, Dom and Vince looked at each other. Dom looked tortured over the situation. Vince looked guilty.

"Shit, how are we going to sort this out? I mean Buster's family to us and we threw that away simply because of what? He was a cop. Vince, what are we going to do to make it up to him? I mean he was shaking and it wasn't even shock. It was fear. Fuck it, I'm stupid. There's gotta be someway to make it up to him. It's clear we acted without getting all the facts. And that wasn't until it was thrown blatantly in our faces. I just need to come up with a plan to sort this mess out." Dom said to his best friend.

"Dom, I don't think there is anything _we_ can do to make it up to Buster. Not after what we did." Vince said, emphasising the 'we' to show his point of their ex-crew member forgiving them.

"There's gotta be something we can do though. I'll ring the others and ask them to come here." Dom said, moving away to call his crew.

Vince shook his head, hoping his best friend and boss was right. It was a desperate hope, but a hope all the same.

Dom moved over to stand next to the Mustang he had been working on earlier. He called Letty's number and informed her to tell the crew to meet with him at the garage.


End file.
